


Air-Superiority Blue

by Mishaa



Series: Shades of Blue [2]
Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Bird AU, Gen, Implied Kagami Taiga/Kuroko Tetsuya, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-10-22
Updated: 2012-10-22
Packaged: 2017-11-16 19:57:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 872
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/543263
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mishaa/pseuds/Mishaa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>High up in the canopy of the world and in his throne, he found that he was alone, because without him noticing, his shadow had broken from him and disappeared without a word.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Air-Superiority Blue

**Author's Note:**

> Someone give a hug to [BlackMaya](http://archiveofourown.org/users/blackmaya) for putting up with me again and dealing with my bad tenses (and now, even my pronouns OTL). Crazy bird references ahead, too.

 

* * *

**Air-Superiority Blue**

_This colour is used as camouflage by being painted on the bottom sides of reconnaissance aircraft to make them less visible from the ground._

* * *

o2.

Once upon a time there was a bird who loved to soar the sky. He flew so freely, as if he'd been chained all his life, and each flight was his first taste of freedom. He flew so beautifully that the other birds couldn't do anything but stare from the ground, too intimidated by his grace and prowess to even think of taking flight with him.

He flew because he loved the wind through his feathers, loved the ethereal feeling that came with floating high above the world, in the domain of the clouds, far from the reaches and protected by the sky's purity from the cruel things of the world.

But nothing is constant, and as time passed, without noticing, he fell into a perpetual boredom. The bird found that the beautiful horizon was no longer enough for him - the joys of flying, spreading his wings and breaking free into the wide open sky, joining the winds in their dance and music - was no longer enough. He became listless, and frustrated at the lethargy he found in flying.

So he flew higher and higher, to escape the hampering monotony he'd fallen into, until he flew to close the sun that those on the ground who tried to look at him were blinded by the white glow that enveloped him, as if the gods themselves were moved by how he streamed through the air and blessed him with a crowning halo of light that only they could see his beautiful dance.

There in the canopy of the world, he joins others of his status, larger birds and smaller birds but all his equals in the sport. They could not beat him in his free flight, but they too possessed skills that were unique to them.

Their leader, Phoenix Akashi, had fiery wings and eyes that could see farthest. Midorima could glide the farthest, and Murasakibara had the widest wing span (and could eat anything, too). And there was Kise, a yellow parakeet who could make an almost perfect copy of all of their skills.

They were a strange sight in the world. Birds of different kinds don't usually fly together, but they managed to do it and looked beautiful in their frolic.

But up high on his throne, the bird found that he was alone. His companions were not as much friends as they were birds to fly with. They bickered, competed, and flew with each other during the day, but the game stopped being a game, and though for a while, he believed it would be enough; the facade did not last, and before he knew it, he was falling farther the insipid despondency he so wished to escape.

Because there, he found that his shadow, his one friend through thick and thin, had disappeared without a word, and the saddest thing of all was that it took him long to notice it. His shadow was his partner. They shared a million and one memories together, and just as he reached the peak of his prime, his shadow disappeared, and he does not notice the departure until it was too late and his shadow was long gone.

The despair he felt was overwhelming because with it came the staggering realization that flying had no  _meaning_  anymore. He could not even just fly and leave his sorrow behind because the problem was in the flying. It lost its appeal and only condemned him to a nostalgia filled with the fun he shared with his shadow.

The phoenix Akashi told him there are an infinite number of others, who would claw and bite to be his partner and friend, but he was adamant about finding  _his_  shadow - he insisted that only  _his_  shadow would suffice. So he went on with his life alone, searching for his partner, and being haunted by questions like  _Why_  and  _When_  and even,  _How could you, Tetsu?_

It was only when he met his adversary in the form of a red cardinal - a darker kind of red, unlike the Phoenix Akashi's bright red-orange - did he meet his shadow again, but not as a friend or a partner like the bird so dreamed, but instead, he met him as a foe who wanted to take his crown.

A wave of emotions - hurt, betrayal, and yet so much desire and love as well - washed over him at the sight of his best friend with another. He felt so much animosity against the red beast for thinking  _he_  could live up to his legacy - that  _he_  was good enough for his friend, when he wasn't.

With his heart in turmoil and his very being filled with conflicting emotions, their fight was swift. He rushed into the fight and pummeled the red bird, until his shadow became a player on the court and he could no longer get his head in the game. Confused and bothered, he lost graciously to the red bird, and to his parting  _'I love you, Tetsu!'_

His shadow could only say,  _"I'm sorry. This is for your own good, Daiki_."

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> I warned you about the bird references. This got me writing House of Cards.
> 
>  **Originally published** on  September 11, 2012


End file.
